Louis Frederick I of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (25 October 1667 in
Rudolstadt – 24 June 1718, in Rudolstadt) was the ruling prince of
Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt
Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt was a small historic state in present-day Thuringia, Germany, with its capital at Rudolstadt.
History
Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt was established in 1599 in the course of a resettlement of Schwarzburg dynasty lands. Since ...
, Count of Hohenstein, Lord of Rudolstadt, Blankenburg and Sondershausen from 1710 until his death.
Life
Louis Frederick was the son of
Albert Anton of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and his wife, the poet and pietist,
Countess Emilie Juliane of Barby-Mühlingen.
Between May 1687 and October 1688, he made a
Grand Tour
The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tut ...
, accompanied by his
Hofmeister Johann von Asseburg. He was received at the
Palace of Versailles by King
Louis XIV
Louis XIV (Louis Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was List of French monarchs, King of France from 14 May 1643 until his death in 1715. His reign of 72 years and 110 days is the Li ...
and in Vienna by Emperor
Leopold I. He was also received by Duke
Frederick I of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, whose daughter
Anna Sophie he would marry on 15 October 1691 at
Friedenstein Castle in
Gotha. The pair would have 15 children.
His father was raised to
Imperial Prince
Prince of the Holy Roman Empire ( la, princeps imperii, german: Reichsfürst, cf. '' Fürst'') was a title attributed to a hereditary ruler, nobleman or prelate recognised as such by the Holy Roman Emperor.
Definition
Originally, possessors ...
in 1697 and again in 1710. In 1710, his father had accepted the elevation, but not made it public. After his father died in 1710, Louis Frederick I inherited Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and published the promotion. From 15 April 1711, he styled himself ''Prince'' of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt. At the time, the principality had around inhabitants. The elevation strengthened the position of the
House of Schwarzburg against the
House of Wettin
The House of Wettin () is a dynasty of German kings, prince-electors, dukes, and counts that once ruled territories in the present-day German states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The dynasty is one of the oldest in Europe, and its ori ...
and ensured its survival into modern times. Between 1697 and 1719, they added an ''Imperial Hall'' to the southern side of their
Schwarzburg Castle, underlining the importance the princes attached to their elevation.
Louis Frederick I assisted his father in administrating the principality even before 1710. After he inherited the throne, he reformed the administration on an
absolutist basis. George Ulrich von Beulwitz was the highest civil servant in the principality. Inspired by the
Sun King, Louis Frederick I toyed with the idea to move his residence to
Schwarzburg. However, his financial position made this impossible.
Louis Frederick I took his own life on 24 June 1718 and was succeeded by his eldest son,
Frederick Anton.
Marriage and issue
On 15 October 1691 at
Friedenstein Castle in
Gotha, Louis Frederick I married
Anna Sophie, the daughter of Duke
Frederick I of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. They had 13 children:
*
Frederick Anton (1692-1744), Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, married:
*# Princess
Sophia Wilhelmina of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (1690-1727)
*# Princess Christina Sophia of East Frisia (1688-1750)
* Amalie Magdalene (1693-1693)
* Sophie Louise (1693-1776)
* Sophie Juliane (1694-1776), a nun at
Gandersheim Abbey
* William Louis (1696-1757), married in 1726
morganatically
Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spou ...
to Caroline Henriette Gebauer (1706-1794), who was made Baroness of Brockenburg in 1727
* Christine Dorothea (1697-1698)
* Albert Anton (1698-1720)
* Emilie Juliane (1699-1774)
*
Anna Sophie (1700-1780), married in 1723 to Duke
Francis Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (1697-1764)
* Sophia Dorothea (1706-1737)
* Friederike Louise (1706-1787)
* Magdalena Sibylle (1707-1795), a nun at Gandersheim Abbey
*
Louis Günther II (1708-1790), Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, married in 1733 to Countess Sophie Henriette of Reuss-Untergreiz (1711-1771)
References
* ''Die Fürsten von Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt'', Thüringer Landesmuseum Heidecksburg, Rudolstadt, 1997 (3rd ed., 2001),
* Horst Fleischer, Hans Herz, Lutz Unbehaun and Frank Esche: ''Die Grafen von Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt: Albrecht VII. bis Albert Anton'', Taschenbuch, 2000
* Johann Christian August Junghans: ''Geschichte der schwarzburgischen Regenten'', Leipzig, 182
Online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Louis Frederick 01 Schwarzburg Rudolstadt
House of Schwarzburg
Princes of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt
1667 births
1718 deaths
17th-century German people
18th-century German people